


The Best-Laid Plans

by nfna118



Series: Filling the Gaps [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Homophobic Language, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Season/Series 01, Racist Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nfna118/pseuds/nfna118
Summary: Saturday, October 23, 1982.Will and Mike enter Hawkins's new RadioShack and discover somewhat affordable walkie-talkies. Mike comes up with a plan so that everyone in the Party can get one for Christmas.
Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Series: Filling the Gaps [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723810
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	The Best-Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> The first one-shot in a canon-compliant Byler universe... Non-chronological installments will get posted approximately whenever I feel like it!

**Saturday, October 23, 1982**

Mike held his breath as he dialed Will’s phone number. For some reason, his stomach always felt a little tight when he was calling the Byers. Dustin’s mom was always in a good mood and so funny to talk to. Lucas’s parents were unfailingly polite – just your standard-issue adults, easy to placate with a little bit of small talk. Erica had started picking up sometimes recently, but she wasn’t allowed to, so Mike just had to scare her a little and she’d hand the phone over to Lucas straightaway. But the Byers, well…

The Byers always felt – a little off, seemed a little – different than the rest of their families. Mrs. Byers meant well, but she was always asking him so many questions and seemed to actually care about the answers? That wasn’t something adults did, at least not in Mike’s experience. And Jonathan – Mike didn’t really know how to talk to Jonathan. He was older and acted like an adult most of the time and Will really trusted him with everything, so maybe he should give Jonathan a chance? Mike did always wish he had a brother… all he had was two bratty sisters. But Jonathan was always so quiet – and so busy working at Bradley’s Big Buy in town whenever he could to make some extra money for the family. And Mr. Byers, well…

The last time Mike had talked to Mr. Byers on the phone was three years ago when Will was staying at his dad’s for the weekend. It was a Friday after school and Will was going to sleep over Mike’s that night. Mike was practically bouncing with excitement, like he always did when he was about to see Will or Lucas – well, mostly Will, since Lucas lived so close, but still. Mike had just bought a new Blackhawk comic book with his allowance money, and he needed to tell Will to bring his notebook and crayons. Mike mostly cared about comics for the story – he would always pretend he was the hero when he was reading, and if he was with friends, he’d even read out loud and do all the voices and sound effects and everything. Lucas had started to roll his eyes recently – “Mike, I can read perfectly fine on my own” – but Will still loved it, giggling along at Mike’s antics and his eyes even going a little wide at the scary parts. But Will always paid most attention to the pictures – “The artwork,” he called it – and loved to practice drawing new characters whenever he could. Of course, Mike had crayons and paper at his house, but Will liked to use his own – this special sketchpad that Mrs. Byers had gotten him last Christmas, and his very own 64-color box of Crayola crayons that he kept sharpened just how he liked them. Mike knew he’d never seen Blackhawk before, and didn’t want to miss out on watching Will draw a new superhero for the first time.

So anyways, he had called, and Mr. Byers had picked up the phone, and Mike knew it was Mr. Byers because even though it was 3 in the afternoon, he sounded either like he’d just woken up or was – what was the word his mom used? Oh yeah, tipsy – or both.

“Mmm, yeah? Who’s this?” he croaked.

“Hello, Mr. Byers. This is Mike – Mike Wheeler, Will’s friend from school. Can I talk to Will?” Mike asked, tripping over his own words.

“You’re not the darkie, right?” Lonnie spat out.

Mike almost took a physical step back. He knew Mr. Byers was talking about Lucas, since some of the older boys called him that, but it wasn’t – well, it wasn’t very nice, now was it? He frowned, trying to still sound polite when he replied. “No, sir.”

“Oh, so you’re the other ‘un, then,” Lonnie slurred, “the one turning my son into a goddamn fairy.”

Mike had heard that word too from the older boys, but he wasn’t sure what it meant. Will didn’t have wings or live in a flower like Tinker Bell did in “Peter Pan”. They must mean some kind of evil fairy, although Mike didn’t really think fairies could be evil.

Taking Mike’s silence as acquiescence, Lonnie continued on. “No, you cannot talk to _my_ son. He needs to spend time with real men so he can grow up to be a real man, not a sissy like you or a traitor like darkie.”

Mike spluttered in indignation. “But – I – What –”

“I said no, and I mean no,” Lonnie growled. “In fact, you can forget about seeing him at all this weekend. I don’t need him turning into some prissy bootlicking fag like you.” And he hung up the phone.

Mike cried a lot that night.

Mike knew that Mr. Byers definitely wouldn’t pick up the phone today, but maybe that was still the reason why he felt nervous?

It ended up being Mrs. Byers that picked up, on the fourth ring. “Hello?” she asked, sounding a little flustered, but that was about par for the course.

“Hi, Mrs. Byers,” said Mike, easily slipping into his adult voice. “This is Mike. May I please speak with Will?”

“Oh, Mike, honey,” Mrs. Byers cooed. He knew if he were there in person, she’d be tousling his hair or wrapping him in a tight hug. He grimaced at the thought. “How are you doing, sweetie?”

“I’m good, Mrs. Byers,” he said politely. “Can I talk to Will, please?”

“Of course, dear. He just stepped into the bathroom, and I’ll hand the phone over just as soon as he’s out.” Mike rolled his eyes. Great. Exactly what he’d hoped to avoid. “So how’s your family doing?”

Six agonizing minutes later, Mrs. Byers had finally, _finally_ , put Will on the phone.

“Will. Finally!” Mike sighed. “Were you taking the world’s longest dump or what? I was talking to your mom for like forever and I wasn’t paying that close attention so I probably made some stuff up.”

Will giggled quietly, and the knot in Mike’s stomach immediately untied itself. Will was here. His best friend was here. Everything was right in the world.

“Right, so hopefully you didn’t flush so you can call the folks at Guinness and get them to take a look,” Mike continued on when it became obvious Will wasn’t going to say anything further.

“Mikeeeeee,” Will protested, “Stop being gross!”

Mike laughed. He could hear Will rolling his eyes and knew he didn’t really mind. “Anyways, I was calling to see if maybe you wanted to ride our bikes around today. You in?”

“Sure,” said Will, smiling. “Will Lucas or Dustin be there too?”  
  
“Do you want them to be?” asked Mike. “We’ve been so busy with that last D&D campaign that it’s been a while since just the two of us hung out, and I thought –”

“Mike,” Will interrupted. “That sounds great.”

“Oh. Cool,” said Mike, not used to Will speaking up like that. “Well. Okay. I’ll meet you at your place in twenty?”

“But my place is so far out of the way?”

“Yeah, but my parents aren’t up yet.” The Moms didn’t like them riding around on their own yet, since “the roads are dangerous” and “they aren’t even teenagers yet”.

“Ah, okay,” said Will, an equal mix of smirk at Mike’s antics and worry at any mention of rule-breaking. “See you in twenty, then!”

“See ya!” Will smiled and hung up.

Mike couldn’t stop smiling either. Today was going to be the best day ever.

* * *

“Whoa,” said Will slowly, staring around him. Mike was right. It _had_ been the best day ever. They’d gone into town and had a picnic at Forrest Hills Park with the sandwiches Mrs. Byers had _insisted_ they take with them, and bought ice cream, and then wandered around with no particular destination in mind. But now – now they were at the new RadioShack.

The Party had laughed when they first saw the sign go up. Everyone already had a radio, and who would want to buy a new one in a _shack_? But this was so much more than they had ever imagined. Mike and Will had both stopped dead in their tracks as soon as they entered the store, slowly taking everything in.

“Hello, boys! How can I help you?” One of the employees had noticed them at the entrance and was slowly making his way over. “Anything in particular you’re looking for?”

Will instinctively turned to Mike, like he always did when an adult asked the two of them a question. Mike had always been more comfortable around adults. “We’re just looking around, Mr. – ?”

“Newby, but you can call me Bob. Well, just give me a holler if you need anything.” He ambled back behind his desk, where he had some complicated-looking machine taken apart that he appeared to be trying to fix. Will shot a quick, small smile at Mike for taking initiative, then the two of them made their way around the store.

Eventually, they made their way over to the far wall, where there was an array of walkie-talkies. Mike’s eyebrows shot up. “Will!” he whispered.

“Mmm?” asked Will, raising an eyebrow. Mike was clearly having one of his crazy ideas.

“What if – what if all four of us had walkie-talkies? Then we could call each other anytime we wanted, even in the middle of the night, and not worry about the line being busy, or someone listening in!”

Will nodded along in agreement. It wasn’t such a problem for him, but Nancy was always on the phone nowadays, and Erica had recently decided she wanted to be a spy when she grew up and was always eavesdropping on the Sinclairs’ line at the worst possible times. He reached out to take one off the shelf, the corners of his mouth turning up of their own accord, until –

“Mike,” he interrupted, his smile gone in an instant, “Look.” He pointed at the price tag - $59.95.

“Oh, shit,” Mike whistled under his breath. Will raised an eyebrow. Mike’s potty mouth had gotten worse recently, but Will thought it was kind of – bad-ass when it was just the two of them, even if he would never use such language himself. “My family could never afford this” went unspoken between them. Everyone knew the Byers weren’t that well off, and Will didn’t mind, not really, but Mike was the only person outside the family he’d really talked about it with.

Mike pouted for a moment – “But what’s the point if I can’t talk to my best friend?” After a couple seconds, though, his shit-eating grin returned. “Wait. I got it. Come on! We’ve got to tell the others!”

* * *

**Monday, October 25, 1982**

Will had initially been a little put out when Mike was so quick to jump into involving the other two. He preferred when it was just him and Mike – him and anyone, really. He loved being with Dustin and Lucas too, of course, but it was easy for him to feel a little – overshadowed. Whenever more people were involved, Mike felt compelled to involve everyone equally. And Dustin always had opinions about everything and Lucas always had sass and Will was just – there. But Mike somehow usually still managed to find a way to make him feel included.

Will was the first one to make it to the school on Monday. Mike had decided it would be more impactful to wait to tell the others then instead of over the phone. Dustin cycled up slowly a few minutes later. “Hey, Will!” he called out cheerfully. Will turned up the corners of his mouth and held up a hand in return.

“So what have you been up to this weekend?” he asked as Dustin slotted his bike into the rack.

“Oh, man,” Dustin began, “you will not _believe_ the weekend I had!” About five minutes later, following a story involving Dustin’s bossy aunt, a _very_ uncomfortable bow tie, and a particularly feisty garter snake, he finally paused to take a breath. “So how was your weekend?”

Will paused a moment to find the words he wanted, but then –

“Will and I hung out on Saturday and we have the _best_ idea for Christmas _ever_.” During Dustin’s monologue, Mike and Lucas had biked up unnoticed.

Just like that, Mike became the center of the Party’s attention – but Will found, Mike’s arm slung casually around his shoulder, that he couldn’t really bring himself to care.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You’ve been saying that the whole ride over, Mike. Spill it already!”

“Oh, man –” Dustin now – “Is there a new Wolverine coming out? A new D&D manual? I know they said they weren’t publishing a new one until next year at the earliest, but –”

“No,” interrupted Mike. “No, Dustin, none of that. Just shut up and listen for once! For Christmas this year, we are all going to get –” He leaned in conspiratorially and whispered – “Real walkie-talkies.”

A beat of silence, then Dustin let out a hearty guffaw. “Mike! I’ve seen the catalogs! Those are like a hundred and fifty bucks! Sure, you could get _your_ parents to shell out for one, and maaaybe I could convince my mom to get me one…” Lucas snorted, and Will quirked an eyebrow in agreement. Dustin’s mom was such a pushover; she would definitely get him one. “But Lucas’s dad would say it’s a waste of money, and…” he trailed off awkwardly. Will glanced down at the ground, just willing the moment to pass. This wasn’t the first time Dustin’s mouth had run faster than his brain.

Mike’s arm tightened around Will’s shoulders, a quick squeeze of solidarity, and he leaned a little more into Will’s space. Will leaned his head back to rest on Mike’s shoulder – how was Mike already over five feet? – as Mike spoke up again.

“No, you idiot. Just _listen_!” Mike wasn’t actually irritated, but he was fairly – impatient. Timing was always important to his stories. “This is how it’s gonna go down. First off, we can get Realistic TRC-206 walkie-talkies from that new RadioShack for sixty bucks each.” A low whistle from Lucas. “Second, this plan has stages. And teams. Will and I are a team, and you and Lucas are a team.”

“Why do I always get stuck with this dingus?” muttered Lucas. Mike glared at him.

“Dustin, you’re right. Lucas’s and Will’s parents won’t ever go for it. So, this week, you and I are going to explain how we saw these really cheap walkie-talkies at RadioShack and each ask for one for Christmas. Then a few weeks later, once they’ve already decided to buy them, we’ll bring it up again and explain how just having one doesn’t make any sense and we need a second so we can talk to somebody else!” He rocked back on his heels, spreading his hands. “And then, we all get a walkie-talkie for Christmas. It’s genius!”

“Hold up, Mike,” said Lucas, looking skeptical. “You know your parents are gonna talk to Mrs. Henderson and then the game is up. We’ll only get two walkies.”

Will opened his mouth to speak, but Dustin beat him to it. “No, no, no! When I ask for a second, I’ll make sure to ask my mom to keep it a secret so that it’ll be a surprise! And Mike, you just have to do the same for your mom.”

“Yeah,” said Mike, nodding in agreement, “Yeah, that’ll work. Good thinking, Dustin!”

Even Lucas had to nod in grudging admiration. “Okay, fine. I’m in. Will, I assume you are too?”

Will couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. “Yeah,” he said, “yeah, I’m in.” Even if he didn’t care about walkie-talkies one bit, the way Mike’s eyes lit up was worth it all on its own.

* * *

**Wednesday, November 17, 1982**

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Dustin always _had_ had the foulest mouth out of all of them, Will thought to himself. “Guys, this is bad. This is so bad. This is an emergency.”

It was Wednesday the week before Thanksgiving. Phase two had gone into effect last night – or it was supposed to have, anyways. It had gotten cold enough that their parents were driving them to school, so they couldn’t talk as a Party in the morning, and they didn’t get to get near enough to each other in class. They’d just sat down at their lunch table, finally able to talk freely.

“What? What is it, Dustin?”

“Mike, stop rolling your eyes at me. I’m not joking.” The girls down at the other end of the table glared at them. Dustin flushed and pitched his voice a little lower. “I talked to my mom last night, just like we planned, and she said, and I quote, ‘That sounds so sweet, Dusty-Poo!’” He shot a glare at Lucas, who was quietly sniggering to himself. “‘Let me just check with the other moms to make sure they’re okay with it!’”

“What? But hadn’t you just asked her to keep it a secret?” Mike sounded indignant.

“I know, right?” Dustin sounded equally outraged. “So I told her again – ‘But Mom, it won’t be the same if it’s not a surprise!’ and she said, ‘Okay, Dusty,’ but she said it in that mom way that means she’s going to do the opposite of what you want but in a way that you won’t find out until it’s too late to do anything about it!”

“Shit, this _is_ bad,” muttered Mike. Will glared at him across the table. Just because Dustin had always been vulgar didn’t mean Mike needed to be too – not in public, anyways. Mike at least had the decency to glance down and twitch the corner of his mouth in acknowledgment.

Lucas muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I told you so” and Mike glared at him. “Just – it’s okay, Lucas. Our moms haven’t talked yet. We just have to do some damage control. Everything’s gonna be okay. Just give me a moment to think…”

“It’s over, Mike,” replied Lucas. “Just give it up. Two walkies is better than none.”

“No, no, it’s still gonna work. I just need to talk to my mom tonight and make sure she doesn’t talk to _your_ mom –” he glared at Dustin – “about Christmas.”

The conversation devolved into other things – mostly the D&D campaign they had just finished – until the bell rang and Mike and Will found themselves side-by-side as they headed out to recess. Mike leaned down so Will could hear him above the general hubbub. “Will, I promise. I’m gonna make this work.”

“It’s okay,” Will replied, “It’s like Lucas said – two walkie-talkies is better than none. There are some nights where we’ll be able to use them, I’m sure.”

“I knowwwww. But four is better than two. And we’re gonna get four.” Will smiled up at him. He wished he had Mike’s confidence, his ability to get things done.

“Okay, Mike. Whatever you say.” Mike punched him lightly on the arm. Will shoved him back playfully. They were both smiling as they walked into class.

* * *

Karen Wheeler startled at the sound of the doorbell. She set down the duster and took a moment to straighten her blouse before she headed over to answer the door.

“Claudia! What a surprise!” It really was. Claudia and her son Dustin had moved to town about a year ago – or was it two, now? Dustin had quickly been accepted into Mike’s little friend group, so she’d met Claudia via planning for playdates, and she didn’t live _too_ far away, so they made the occasional social call themselves. They weren’t terribly frequent, though, and never unannounced. Claudia mostly kept to herself and didn’t talk too much about her personal life and, although intensely curious, Karen would never be so forward as to bring it up herself.

“Oh, hello, Karen!” Claudia bubbled. “I was just taking a walk through your neighborhood and thought I’d pop in!”

Karen smiled. “Of course, of course! Do come in and have a cup of tea – you must be dreadfully chilly.” Indeed, she was all bundled up in a down coat and scarf, and her face was still flushed. She wasn’t the sort to just take long walks, either. Clearly something was the matter. She racked her brain for any offense she might have caused, but nothing came to mind.

They made small talk as the tea water boiled. The weather, their children – Claudia had little more clue than she did about the Dragon and Damsel nonsense their boys got up to – and studiously avoiding any mention of Ted.

As they were settling down with their tea, the true reason finally came out. “So, Karen, I’ve been meaning to ask you – my Dusty’s been talking to me a lot about Christmas, and he seems to really have his heart set on this particular walkie-talkie from RadioShack…”

Karen raised her eyebrows, murmuring around her tea, “Oh, really, now?”

“And this morning he comes up to me and starts explaining how just one wouldn’t make any sense, that he needs two so he could talk to someone else – and that makes sense to me, you know, but I just wanted to talk to you and Joyce and Valerie to make sure all of you would be okay with it?”

“Well, isn’t that funny. Mike said exactly the same thing to me this morning.”

Claudia blew on her tea. “So what are our boys up to this time?”

“Wellll,” replied Karen, stretching out the word, “My best guess would be that they all want walkie-talkies for Christmas, but they don’t think the Sinclairs or Byers would buy in to the idea.”

“And do we?” asked Claudia.

Karen pursed her lips. “I think we should find a morning where we can all have tea together and discuss it. I’ll make some calls tonight. What does your schedule look like later this week?”

A few minutes later, Claudia was bundled up and out the door. It was time for Karen to do what she did best – plan a social gathering.

* * *

“Hey, Mom,” shouted Mike as he threw open the front door, “I’m home!”

“Hello, Michael,” Karen replied from the kitchen, where she was already preparing that evening’s lasagna. And, following a quick thump – “Michael Joseph! How many times have I told you not to leave your backpack lying around the house?”

“Sorry, Mom!” He poked his head into the kitchen, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “So…”

“Yes, Michael?”

“Dustin’s mom didn’t call today, did she?”

“No, she didn’t, dear. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, um.” Mike twirled his hair around his finger, a sure sign he was making something up on the spot. “Well, you see, we’ve been working on this new D&D campaign and we were talking about meeting up at his house this weekend and maybe sleeping over, but I guess Dustin hasn’t asked his mom yet or maybe she just hasn’t called yet, or –”

“A new campaign, hmm?” Karen interrupted. “I think we could make that happen. Let me just call up Mrs. Henderson and the others to iron out the details. It would be a good time for us moms to catch up too. It’s been such a long while, and I don’t know when we’ll have a chance again, what with the holidays coming up and all.”

Mike’s eyes went wide. “What? No! I mean, you shouldn’t have to go to all that trouble! We’ll get it all worked out ourselves. No need for you to call anyone. I’m sure you’re busy. I’ll just call Dustin right now and –”

“Nonsense, Michael. I’ll just call Claudia and Valerie and Joyce and get everything set up for you boys. You can run along upstairs to your room and get started on your homework.”

Karen smiled fondly at the sullen retreating back of her son as he trudged up the stairs. These moments were becoming rarer and rarer and she wanted to treasure them for as long as she could.

* * *

**Thursday, November 24, 1982**

“Wait, Mike, you’re starting a new campaign?” Mike turned as soon as he heard Will’s voice, watching him as he hopped off his bike and strode over faster than usual. It had been unseasonably warm today, and the roads were clear, so the Moms had decided to let them bike in. “I won’t have any time to draw the characters or make maps or – Mike, you should have told me earlier!”

Mike sighed. “There’s no new campaign, Will. I messed up. Big time.”

“Oh.” Will visibly deflated. He thought back to yesterday afternoon when his mom had talked to Mrs. Wheeler on the phone. His heart leapt, as it always did whenever any of the Wheelers called. Usually he got to talk to Mike for at least a few minutes at the end. But this time, his mom had just hung up the phone.

“Sorry, Will. Mike’s doing homework.” She gave him a knowing half-smile that Will didn’t entirely understand. Sure, he enjoyed talking to Mike, but it wasn’t like this was the end of the world or anything. He just felt a small twinge of disappointment from somewhere in his chest. “But,” her eyes sparkled, “Mrs. Wheeler said that she’s hosting you all on Saturday to start your new campaign!”

“Wait, what.” Will wasn’t quick enough to hide his surprise and his mom frowned at him. “Oh. Oh, yeah, that campaign. I just didn’t think it’d be ready so soon, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” continued Mike, bringing Will back to the present. “So I asked my mom if Dustin’s mom had called and she said she hadn’t but then I had to make up a reason why she _would_ have called and, well, the upside is that we get to hang out and have a sleepover at my place this weekend. The downside is that we have to figure out a campaign in like two days. The worst news –” his face blackened – “is that our moms are all going to hang out too.”

Lucas shook his head. “I told you, man, this is never gonna work.”

“Shut up, Lucas,” said Mike half-heartedly. “I already admitted I messed up. I’m sorry, guys. This is all my fault.”

“It’s okay, Mike,” said Will, patting Mike’s shoulder and leaving his hand there for maybe a fraction of a second too long. Mike reached up and put his hand over Will’s, keeping it here, pursing the corners of his mouth and sighing deeply.

Of course, Troy and James had to show up at that exact moment.

“Aww, James,” Troy cooed, “Look at the little faggy sixth-graders holding hands.” Mike and Will immediately snatched their hands away, but it was too late.

“At least they know they should be embarrassed,” replied James, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Let’s give them a reminder of what happens to fags around here.” He jabbed at Mike without warning, causing Mike to take a step back, instinctively shielding Will as he did so.

“What have we ever done to you, huh?” yelled Mike.

“Uh, you _exist_ ,” sneered Troy. “Everyone sees the way you look at each other and now you’re holding hands. Next thing you know, you’ll be making out in the halls –” he mimed vomiting – “and I can’t even stand imagining that. So just remember that this is what happens to fags.” He stepped forward and spat in Mike’s face. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smeared it on the front of Mike’s shirt.

“See you around, gaywads,” he sneered, then he high-fived James and the two of them walked away.

The Party stood still as they watched James and Troy retreating. Mike was breathing heavily. Once they were out of sight, Will sank down onto his heels, trying to hide the tears threatening to spill out. When Mike turned around and didn’t immediately see Will, he felt a spike of ice in his chest, which instantly melted when he glanced down and saw Will crying on the ground. He knelt down, waving Dustin and Lucas away with a quick shake of his head.

“Will,” he whispered. “Hey, Will, I’m right here.” When Will still didn’t look up, he reached out and tilted his chin up, using his thumb to clumsily wipe away the tears. Will still cast his eyes downwards, refusing to make eye contact.

“Will, Will. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

Will flicked his eyes up to finally meet Mike’s gaze. “Why?” he whispered bag. “You’re not a f– a – a you-know-what.” He glanced down to the ground again as Mike continued to wipe away the fresh tears still falling.

“Will, look at me.” Mike waited until he had Will’s full attention again. “I’m not a – you know I like girls.” Will tightened one corner of his mouth in acknowledgment. “I know I like girls. Dustin and Lucas know I like girls. Who _cares_ what those mouth-breathers think? You’re my best friend, Will. That’s never going to change.”

“But – but Troy – oh, God, Mike…” Will took his slightly too-long sleeve and used it to wipe the spit off of Mike’s face. “This is all my fault. You shouldn’t have to deal with any of this.”

“But I _want_ to,” said Mike. “If Troy and James want to get to you, they’ll have to go through me first. Here, let’s get you up.” He stood up and offered his hands to Will. Will stared at them for a second before he reached out and let Mike pull him up. Once he was up, Mike let go and pulled him into a tight hug. Will buried his head in Mike’s shoulder and collapsed into him, before eventually returning the embrace.

“I’ll always be here for you, Will,” Mike whispered into his hair, causing Will’s grip to tighten around him. They stood like that for a few seconds until the warning bell rang. Mike slowly pulled away. “Come on, Will. Let’s get you to class.”

Will gave him a half-smile. “Thanks, Mike. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to,” replied Mike, sincerity radiating from his eyes.

Will almost reached for Mike’s hand as they walked towards the school, but then thought better of it.

* * *

**Saturday, November 26, 1982**

“When’s Will gonna get here?” Mike whined.

“Ugh, stop pining for your boyfriend already.” Lucas wrinkled his nose.

“Lucas,” said Mike, suddenly serious, “Will’s not my boyfriend. That’s not funny. I’m not – gay.”

“Geez,” said Lucas, throwing up his hands, “Someone doesn’t know how to take a joke.”

“Sorry, it’s just – y’know. Troy and James,” Mike muttered, glancing down.

“I get it, man. You and Will are close. Maybe just don’t advertise it so much until you find a girlfriend, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know. You got your eye on anyone?”

“Mandy’s pretty fine,” interjected Dustin.

“You mean Mindy Novak?”

“No, Lucas. I don’t mean Mindy. I mean Mandy – I dunno her last name. But she sits behind me in English. Do _you_ like Mindy?”

“Oh, yeah. I remember Mandy now. But Mindy is so hot. Have you looked at her recently?” He made a cupping motion over his chest, grinning.

“Ew, gross, Lucas,” said Mike.

“What?” Lucas defended himself, “You think ta-tas are gross? Man, no wonder you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Mike scoffed. “And for the record, no, I don’t think breasts are gross. I just – think other parts are more important.”

“Oh, so you’re an ass man, huh?” asked Dustin. Lucas doubled over laughing.

“I – I – what – no!” Mike was spluttering indignantly now, throwing out his hands. “I meant I care if a girl is smart, or funny, or –”

“Oh, so _that’s_ why you’ve been making eyes at Jennifer Hayes, huh?”

“I never said that!”

“Well, have you?”

Mike scowled at Lucas and Dustin before they were interrupted by the sound of feet coming down the Wheeler’s basement staircase. Mike’s head immediately swiveled to see Will’s feet begin to come into view.

“Willy-boy!” shouted Dustin. “The man of the hour!” Will was grinning as his face appeared. “So Lucas here likes Mindy Novak, I prefer Mandy from English, and Mikey over here fancies Jennifer Hayes. Who do you have your eye on, huh?”

Mike thinks he was the only one of the three to notice the momentary glint of panic in Will’s eyes, gone so quick he probably imagined it.

“Yeah, Will,” called out Lucas, “You never talk about your crushes. Who’s the lucky gal?”

Mike patted the spot next to him on the couch where Will always sat. Will moved across the room as he was thinking how to reply. “Guys,” he finally said, sitting down, “I’m not really interested in girls – yet,” he quickly added to clarify. “I know having a girlfriend would help with the teasing, but I’m just not ready.”

“That’s fine, Will,” said Mike, slinging his arm around Will’s shoulder and giving him a noogie.

“Mike!” squealed Will, squirming away.

Not wanting to be left out, Lucas and Dustin jumped into the fray, and the four boys were soon a tangled jumble of limbs.

“Boys!” Unnoticed, Mrs. Wheeler had opened the basement door and come halfway down the stairs. All motion immediately ceased and they looked guiltily up at her.

“Sorry, Mrs. Wheeler,” said Will sheepishly. Joyce might be a bit – off, but she had raised her boys well, Karen had to admit. She chose to overlook the fact that her own son was currently sprawled across Will’s lap.

“ _Please_ try to keep it down! We’re _trying_ to have a peaceful afternoon tea upstairs.”

After an apologetic chorus of “Yes, Mrs. Wheeler” and “Yes, Mom”, she turned back upstairs.

“Sorry about the interruption,” said Karen with a tight smile, resuming her seat and taking a sip of tea. “As I was saying, we need to talk about Christmas.”

Claudia nodded in understanding as Valerie asked, “What about Christmas?”

“Yes, what about Christmas?” chimed in Joyce.

“Well, earlier this week, Claudia and I were chatting and discovered our boys were trying to pull one over on us to all get walkie-talkies for Christmas.”

Valerie raised an eyebrow.

“A few weeks ago, Dustin and Mike both asked for a TR-something from RadioShack. This week, they both pointed out that just one walkie-talkie does no good and they’d need to get two to be of any use. Apparently they thought Claudia and I would be the most amenable to the idea, and then they’d donate the extra two to Lucas and Will.”

Joyce puffed up a little bit. “Well, that’s ridiculous! Why wouldn’t Will have asked me?”

“How much are they?” asked Valerie.

“About sixty dollars,” replied Karen carefully. Joyce bit her lip, but remained firm. “So. How do we want to proceed?”

* * *

Will smiled quietly to himself. It had been a good day. They set up a bunch of D&D equipment for their fake campaign. They spent most of the afternoon and evening reading comic books, only emerging for pizza, but whenever Mrs. Wheeler came down to check on them, they scrambled for the table and made up ridiculous things, trying to get each other to crack.

“Elfrid the ugly sea troll approaches. Will, roll for befuddlement!”

“I got a… 34.5” Meanwhile, the single d20 had actually rolled underneath the table.

“Befuddlement doesn’t work against ugly sea trolls, you dingus! Only damp sea trolls!”

“Okay, so Elfrid reflects your befuddlement and it ricochets around the room, hitting…”

“Wait, I use my axe to deflect!”

“To deflect Will’s… befuddlement?”

“Yes!”

“Uh, okay. Roll for initiative?”

At night, they’d watched Mike’s well-loved VHS of “Star Wars” for the seventh or eighth time and Will sat next to Mike on the couch like always, Dustin and Lucas at their feet on the floor. Mike got sleepy about halfway through, his head slowly drooping onto Will’s shoulder. Even when the movie finished and they turned the lights on, Mike stayed where he was, slumping more decisively across Will, claiming he was “too tired to move”.

They eventually got up to take turns getting ready in the bathroom. Dustin always changed into pajamas out in the basement, but Will wasn’t comfortable changing in front of the whole Party anymore.

Now they were in their sleeping bags, the lights out. Dustin’s snores were easy to hear. Lucas’s breathing was even and regular. Will glanced over at Mike. He was lying on his back, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. “Hey, Mike,” he whispered, “Can I come over?”

Mike tilted his head. “Yeah, of course.” He started unzipping his own bag so Will could slip in. The very first time Will had slept over Mike’s, he’d gotten scared of the dark and the weird noises in Mike’s basement and Mike had shared his sleeping bag, keeping Will safe. They didn’t do it all the time, especially when Dustin and Lucas were there too. But whenever Will asked, Mike never minded.

“What’s up?” whispered Mike as Will settled his head against Mike’s chest and Mike wrapped his arms around him. Will took a moment to drink in that scent that was indescribably – good, and safe, and right.

“Do you really like Jennifer Hayes?”

Mike tensed for a moment, then let out a long, slow breath. “No, Will, I don’t. I never said I did… I just implied it so Dustin and Lucas would leave me alone. I’m like you, Will, just not as brave. I don’t have a crush on anyone. Like, Jennifer seems perfectly nice and pretty, but I’d rather hang out and play D&D and watch movies with you – and Dustin and Lucas too, of course.”

Will relaxed, going limp against Mike as he rubbed slow circles on Will’s back. “Okay, good. …I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

“Even if you were,” murmured Mike into Will’s hair, “I wouldn’t care. You’re my best friend, Will.”

“You too, Mike,” Will said, yawning, tangling his legs with Mike’s.

* * *

**Saturday, December 25, 1982**

The few weeks leading up to Christmas rushed by as they always do, with family, decorating, baking, and shopping. So it was that Dustin found himself sitting with his mom on his living room floor in his pajamas on Christmas morning. He’d already gotten some books on space and a really cool magnet set, and there was just one big box left.

“Go on, Dusty, open it!” his mom urged, camera at the ready.

Dustin had to pick up and deposit Mews on a different pile of wrapping paper in order to make it over to the box. He tore off the bow and ribbon unceremoniously to find – “Two walkies! Mom! This is amazing! You’re the best!” He jumped up and ran over to hug her. “I gotta go call Lucas, he’s gonna be so excited!”

“Dusty, it’s not even 7 AM. You can’t call yet!”

“But Mooooom.”

“Dusty-Poo…”

“Okay, fine. But I’m going to call him soon.”

“After breakfast, dear.”

* * *

After making sure that Holly, Nancy, and their parents were up, Mike rushed downstairs to the tree. Out front was a rectangular box with his name on it. He picked it up and rattled it around experimentally while he waited for everyone else to make it down the stairs.

“Okay,” his mom said finally, once she was settled down with Holly in her lap, “Everyone choose the first present they want to open!”

Mike clutched the box tighter to his chest and, once everyone else was ready, tore open the wrapping to find – one walkie-talkie.

“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad,” he said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. How was he going to break the news to Will? He had _promised_ him it was going to work out.

* * *

“Erica, go away! It’s – 6 AM?” Lucas asked blearily.

“It’s Christmas, dingus. Get up!”

“Ughhhhh.”

“Okay, then. I’m coming in.”

“Erica, no!” Lucas hastily moved to cover himself as Erica poked her head in. “I’m up. Give me a minute and I’ll be down soon. Go wake up Mom and Dad!”

“Good idea, big bro,” said Erica, sticking out her tongue. “You’d better be down by the time I get there – or else.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. He threw on an old t-shirt and some sweatpants over his boxers.

He and Erica got the typical assortment of presents – some toys, some books, some clothes. As the pile began to dwindle, Lucas selected a cylindrical package with his name on it. As he slowly unwrapped it, he found – a packing tube, which contained – “Dad, is this your old walkie from Vietnam?”

“Yes it is. A genuine AN/PRC-6!”

“Wow! How does it work?”

“Well, it stopped working in the spring of ’74. That’s why I was allowed to keep it – as a souvenir, if you will.”

Lucas’s face fell a bit. “Well… that’s still cool. Thanks, Dad. I know this must mean a lot to you.”

“We can try to fix it up if you want?”

Lucas’s face brightened again. “Wow, really?” He unclasped the body of the walkie, and inside amongst all the circuitry was a small piece of paper with spidery red handwriting on it. “Call Dustin –Santa” he ready slowly, raising an eyebrow at his dad. However, his dad looked genuinely confused too.

“Well, I guess you’d better do what Santa says,” his mom smiled.

Still mystified, Lucas went to the phone and dialed the Hendersons’ number.

“Hello?” Dustin’s mom answered.

“Mrs. Henderson, hi,” said Lucas, “May I please speak with Dustin?”

“Of course, dearie! – Dusty, it’s for you!” she shouted into the house.

“Lucas, Lucas, you’re never gonna believe it! I got _two_ walkies for Christmas!”

Lucas broke out in a grin. He’d never been so happy to be wrong.

* * *

“Mike, honey, it’s for you! It’s Will!”

Mike sprung up from where he was sitting on the floor, engrossed with his new book on radio communication. He slowed as he got to the phone, though. He still hadn’t figured out how to break the news to Will.

“Merry Christmas, Will!” he said. That was safe enough, at least.

“Merry Christmas, Mike.”

“So listen, Will,” continued Mike, not wanting to let Will get in a word until he’d said his piece. “You and Lucas were right. I only got one walkie. I haven’t talked to Dustin yet, but I’m guessing he only got the one as well –”

“Mike –”

“We all have birthdays coming up kinda soon, though –”

“Mike!”

“– and in the meantime we can always figure out a plan to share, because –”

“ _Mike_! – Mike. I got one too.”

“Oh.” And instead of feeling foolish, Mike instead found a huge grin spreading across his face. “Will, Will, that’s great!”

“I think our parents played us,” Will chuckled.

“But we still got four walkies, so who really won? Anyways. When can I see you so we can start setting them up?”

“Probably tomorrow… Mom wants today to just be family. I had to beg for this phone call, but I _needed_ to tell you.”

“Ugh, tomorrow’s so far away. I wanna see you _now_ ,” complained Mike, “But I guess it’ll have to do. Have a merry Christmas, Will, and I’ll see you really soon, okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Merry Christmas, Mike. Bye.”

“Bye, Will.”

Five seconds passed before they hung up the phones.


End file.
